Chocolate Poisoning In The Dog, Symptoms, Treatment.
You never would have thought chocolate could be a dangerous poison to dogs, but it is! This is unfortunate because dogs just love chocolate.
Vets see this problem at Easter when parents hide chocolate Easter eggs in the garden the night before the egg search, then let the dog out first thing in the morning to do its business. The dog discovers the chocolate eggs before the kids do, which can ruin a day that was meant to be a celebration.
Christmas Day is also a common day for chocolate poisoning. In the wee hours of the morning, a sly dog can sneakily creep under the inviting Christmas tree, open, and enjoy inciting chocolate treats. Another celebration possibly ruined. Too much chocolate at Halloween can make kids really sick, but sharing with man’s best friend might be fatal…not the generous treat it was meant to be.
Vets know, and want their clients to know, that chocolate poisoning can happen any day, anytime of the year. The problem with chocolate is that it contains caffeine and theobromine. These two compounds can be toxic to your dog. In extreme cases, deaths are possible. However, in most cases, dogs have to eat quite a lot of chocolate before deaths occur. Check out the toxic levels below :
.The Numbers : Toxic Levels
This depends on the type of chocolate the dog ate. The levels of caffeine and theobromine vary between different types of chocolate. For example, white chocolate has the lowest concentration of toxins and baking chocolate has the highest concentration.
White Chocolate. Mild signs of poisoning can occur when 45 ounces per pound of body weight is eaten. Severe toxicity occurs when 90 ounces per pound of body weight is eaten. Toxicity from this type of chocolate would be rare because of the amounts the dog would need to swallow to induce toxicity.
Milk Chocolate. Mild signs of poisoning can occur when 0.7 ounces per pound of body weight is eaten. Severe signs occur when two ounces per pound of body weight is eaten. This means that a little less than one pound of milk chocolate can produce symptoms in a 20-pound dog.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate. Mild signs of poisoning can occur when 1/3 ounce per pound of body weight is eaten. Severe signs occur when one ounce per pound of body weight is eaten. This means that as little as six ounces of semi-sweet chocolate can produce symptoms a 20-pound dog.
Baking Chocolate. Mild signs of poisoning can occur when 0.1 ounce per pound of body weight is eaten. Severe signs occur when 0.3 ounce per pound of body weight is eaten. Two small one-ounce squares of baking chocolate can be toxic to a 20-pound dog. This type of chocolate has the highest concentration of caffeine and theobromine and very little needs to be ingested before signs of illness become apparent so if you suspect your dog has eaten any quantity of this type of chocolate you should call your vet without delay.
Symptoms You might Expect
Dogs which have eaten toxic amounts of chocolate could show symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea and are generally hyperactive, panting, have increased blood pressure and increased heart rates. This then moves on to tremors, twitches, seizures and possibly death where large amounts of chocolate have been swallowed. Dehydration may also occur if there has been significant vomiting and diarrhoea.
Treatment
There is no specific antidote for chocolate poisoning, treatment is symptomatic and so depends on the range and severity of the clinical signs and may include support such as intravenous drips, charcoal orally, and medications to help control vomiting, sedatives, and drugs to control seizures if it has got that far. If your dog has just eaten significant amounts of chocolate within the last hour it would be a good idea to make it sick, here is a link on how this can best be done LINK. Above all seek veterinary advice if you are in this situation, better safe than sorry. Having said that most pets treated for chocolate toxicity recover and return to normal within a couple of days.
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What a fascinating feature and an excellent site too. I have a problem sometimes when I take my dog out for an evening walk and we often follow the route taken by kids to school. More often than not they tend to drop a few chocolate titbits along their way and my dog will snaffle them up. It all happens a bit too quick to stop, especially when its dark. She has been fine afterward though. It seems clear that the odd discarded rollo shouldn’t hurt too much. She is a Chocolate Labrador after all so I suppose it is going to happen!